LSU has 32 entries in the NCAA outdoor track and field championships, set to begin Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Eugene, Ore.Out of 53 entries, 15 Tigers and 17 Lady Tigers scored top-12 finishes in the three-day NCAA Eastern Preliminary Round to earn themselves spots in the championship meet. LSU coach Dennis Shaver said the entire team competed well to earn themselves              qualifying spots in the championship meet.”I don’t think we made one mistake in the meet this weekend that will cost us anything in Eugene. The bottom line is that we haven’t done anything to beat ourselves to this point,” Shaver said in a news release following the meet. Shaver emphasized the need for a clean slate after the preliminaries.”Our athletes need to realize that we haven’t scored one point at the NCAA Championships in any event,” Shaver said. “We need to follow that up with an even better weekend”Shaver said he considers the postseason a series of seven one-day track meets.”That’s how we treated each day here in Greensboro this weekend,” Shaver said. “We have to keep that mindset [when we arrive in Eugene.]”Junior thrower Walter Henning and sophomore thrower Michael Lauro got things off to a good start in Greensboro with respective third- and sixth-place finishes to qualify for spots in the championship meet. Sophomore Samia Stokes also earned a ticket to Eugene on a 177-foot, 11-inch therow in the discus, her personal record by 10 feet. Her performance ranked No. 2 on the Lady Tigers’ all-time list. “I’ve been working all week on my [turn] drills. Coach [Derek] Yush just told me to rest mentally during the week. He kept saying, ‘You look good. You’re ready,'” Stokes said in a new release. “I was nervous going into it, but I held my composure and it was good. I felt really good and all my energy was released. I had support from my teammates and friends.”Senior pole vaulter Josh Dominguez cleared 17 feet, 2 3/4th inches to advance out of the preliminaries for the second time. All three long jumpers made it out of the preliminaries. Freshman Damar Forbes placed third with a 25-feet, 8-inch jump. Junior All-American Zedric Thomas placed sixth with a jump of 25 feet, 1/2 inch and senior Will Coppage had a mark of 24 feet, 9 1/4th inches to place 11th.The consistent pack of middle-distance runners also had a good meet. Senior LaTavia Thomas, freshman Charlene Lipsey and senior Kayann Thompson all qualified in the 800-meter run, along with senior Richard Jones and freshman Sadiki White. The Tigers and Lady Tigers also qualified both of their 4×100-meter relays and 4×400-meter relays.The championship meet will feature the top 12 athletes from the East preliminary round and the top 12 from the Austin, Texas, West preliminary round. The Lady Tigers have the second-highest number of qualifiers. They advanced 17 out of a possible 25 athletes for 68 percent.  The Tigers have the third-highest number.”I like to see consistency in performances across the board in the championship meets,” Shaver said. “We are now in a situation going to Eugene where we will have to perform at our very best if we hope to make it to the next round. The fields in each event will be cut by two-thirds in the next round. Our athletes have to understand that it’s going to take a performance at their seasonal best to advance.
 
 
 
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